I've read many articles about the designer dogs and do completely agree with them .....but now I'm having a problem that I'm not sure how to deal with, on the flip side of the coin. I'm an avid dog lover, always have been and always will be. I've had your garden variety Heinz 57 dog to extremely high-cost show dogs. So I'm no snob about the more you pay, the better quality.

But I now have two "doodle" dogs -- why? because I frankly like the "weird" look of them. And I wanted to get away from teh large breed that I've raised (and loved) for many, many years, to something smaller ....but not TOO small. So I started looking around at mid-sized dogs and stumbled across these poodle mixes.

We only have 2 rescue groups here in the small town that I live in and both of those are VERY strange organizations. Their policies are so strict, that I can't see how they are benefitting the animals. Many people in this town feel this way, but both groups have a monopoly and many people have gotten disenchanted with their missions. As an example, they rarely let someone, who has other animals, adopt one of their animals. Another issue is that they make you feel like a criminal if you say you work during the day, etc. .....that kind of thing. In any case, I've found a way around their stupid rules (although well-meaning), but I've never found a dog like the kind that I wanted from their facilities. Size and looks-wise, that is. I just like shaggy, strange looking dogs, so I did find a breeder who had some goldendoodles. Now, I didn't pay a huge fortune for either of my poodle mix dogs (and I was SHOCKED at what I found, when starting to look for a "doodle" mix dog===absolutely SHOCKED at the prices being asked for these mixed breed dogs). People sure are suckers, is all I can say!

Anyway, I now have these two and I love them dearly, but I feel like I should be ashamed if someone asks me what kind of dog they are -- I feel like I have to apologize if I say "labradoodle" or "goldendoodle", so I figured out that I didn't feel so badly if I said a poodle mix (thats my story and I'm sticking to it). I just don't like feeling guilty because I got these two puppies who are very near & dear to my heart -- I just like it that they're so cuddly & cute. I've had (and still do) have large, large dogs (St. Bernards) and while I was showing in conformation, I had extremely smaller dogs (Havanese) ....both breeds being extremely expensive ....and I never felt more important or prestigous with either of those or felt guilty about them, so why am I feeling like I have to apologize for these two?

I'm wondering if others who have doodle mix dogs feel the same way -- like we're criminals because we chose these type of dogs? Mind you, I've been "taken" by crooks in the show dog world (at almost every turn) and I don't feel that way by this woman asking a small amount for what she put into the litter. Nothing more. The local dog rescue groups asks almost the same thing as what I paid for one of these dogs, so price has nothing to do with it.

I'm having a hard time making sense of all of this -- and I can see both sides of the coin too -- but I don't agree with any breeder making money off their animals. And while the elitist show dog people like to pretend that money is not their highest priority, it definitely is with the majority that I met and dealt with. And I'm not naive about breeds and believe anything told to me, I've researched certain breeds for years & years, asked around, met dozens of breeders, got recommendations from others, etc. and still ....the bottom line was the "bottom line" and thats very disheartening.

Hmm, I guess I'm just venting out loud, but I would be interested in talking to other doodle-owners if they might have experienced some of these things that I mention.